A campaign has been launched to protect rare birds and their habitats at risk from ramblers, cyclists and dog walkers using the North East countryside.

A campaign has been launched to protect rare birds and their habitats at risk from ramblers, cyclists and dog walkers using the North East countryside.

The Moorland Association has said that open access to rural Britain - as proposed in the Government's recent "Right To Roam" legislation - could damage the more delicate countryside areas.

The region's two National Parks and the Area of Outstanding Natural Beauty, which extends across Durham Fells and Cumbria, have backed the campaign.

The Moorland Association chairman Simon Bostock said: "Moorland birds such as curlew, lapwing, merlin, golden plover, redshank, snipe and dunlin are very vulnerable to disturbance from humans and dogs, as well as predators such as crows, foxes, stoats and weasels. I urge visitors to minimise disturbance by sticking to rights of way, paths and roads and by keeping their dogs on short leads."